Filing drawer



E.. ROSE FILING DRAWER June 8, 1937.

Filed June 4, 19'35A INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 8, 1937 lnirsrl'rv oFFlcE i FILING DRAWER Ernest Rose, Washington, D. C., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 4, 1935, serial No. 24,813

Claims.

Y This invention relates to filing cabinets in general. Y

The broad object of the invention is to provide a filing cabinet in which records are kept 5 flat under pressure to prevent them from curling and buckling.

An object is to provide a iiling cabinet which is especially suitable for ling records such as accounting and statistical punched cards like the ones used in the well known Hollerith system. It is necessary that such cards be kept flat when not in use to prevent them from curling as much as possible. Otherwise, trouble will be experienced when the cards pass through the machine as curled or buckled cards have a tendency to jam in passing through the machine or are not likely to be fed by the usual card picker mechas nism.

Another object is to provide an improved drawer construction for filing cabinets.

An object is to provide a novel means whereby the operation of closing the drawer of a filing cabinet causes pressure to be applied to the records in the drawer for the purpose ofv preserving the flat condition of the yrecords filed in drawer automatically relievesy the pressure on the records to permit removal of as many as desired. l v

Various other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be specically explained in the following description and claims or will be readily perceived from a study of the description, claims and drawing.

The single figure of the drawing illustrates a plan view of a ling cabinet drawer embody-` `ing the invention.

The drawing illustrates in plan view a sheet Ymetal ling cabinet drawer of vconventional con- 40 struction comprising sides I, front 2, back 3, and bottom 4. lThe specific material of which these parts are composed, the means for securing them together, andy their specic shape are not important and form no part of the present 45 invention. The bottom 4 of the drawer is formed with a channel 5 and in this channel, supported by the front 2 and back 3, is a rod 6. The channel 5 and rod .6 cooperate to guide a vertical backing or follower plate 1 of conventional form 50 through which the rod 6 passes. The follower plate 1 has the usual finger piece 8 which forms part of the usual clamp cooperating with the rod 6 or the walls of channel 5 tohold the follower platev 1 in any desired position along rod 6. -55 The plate 1 has a finger piece 9 formed therein such drawer and whereby the opening of the (Cl. 12B-16) so that the clamp may be released to adjust the plate 1 by merely pinching together both nger pieces 8, 9. However, any other form of clamp' ing means or means for adjusting or guiding the plate 1 may be used as a large number of different forms are known in the art.

A pressure or compressor plateY IIJ rests edgewise on the bottom 4 and is resiliently attached to a third or operating plate Il also resting on the bottom 4. The means by which the plate lli is resiliently attached to plate II consists of a plurality of headed pins I2, which loosely pass through holes in plate II and are riveted to pressure plate I0, and compression springs I3 which surround the pins I2 between the plates I0, II and tend to force the plates away from each other, movement being limited, however, by the heads of pins I2. Preferably, at least two rows of pins I2 and their springs I3 are provided and are arranged near the upper and lower edges, respectively, of the plates I0, II in order to equalize as much as possible the pressure applied by the plate Ii) to the cards I4 or other records filed between follower plate 1 and pressure plate I0.

Preferably, one or both of the plates I0, Il has a tab formed in or secured thereto through which the rods E passes to prevent the plates IIJ, II from being removed. In some iiling cabinets the rod 6 is absent and the follower plate 1 is guided by some such expedient as a channel or rib formed in the sides I or secured thereto. In such constructions the channel or rib may have a similar function for one or both of plates Ill, Il. The means by which plates 1, I0, Il are guided is not a feature of the present invention and the only requirements to be satisfied are that the plates Ill, II shall be free to move a limited amount lengthwise of the drawer and that preferably plate 1 be adjustable.

Plate II is movably connected to the drawer front 2 by means of a pair of toggles comprising links I5. These toggles are pivoted at their rear ends to plate II at points about half-way between the top and bottom edges of said plate and equal distances from lthe ends. The front ends of the toggles are pivotally connected to the inside of the drawer front 2 at points directly opposite the points at which the toggles are pivoted to plate II. In other words, the lines of action of the toggles are parallel with the longitudinal axis of the drawer and intersect plate II at points half-way between the longer edges thereof. -This relation is desirable in order that the plate III exert an even pressure on cards I4 placed behind said plate and in front of plate l.

Adjacent each toggle there is a spring I6 attached to the drawer front 2 and plate I I so as to have a tendency to draw plate II toward the drawer front 2. The lines of action of these springs and the lines of action of the toggles are parallel and in the same horizontal plane.

Each toggle is provided with an anti-friction 10 roller I'I which is rotatably mounted on the screw or rivet by'means of which the links I5 are pivoted together. Theserollers bear on a U-shaped member I8, the Alegs of which are slidably. mounted in the holes in the drawer front 2. 'Ihe drawer pull I9 is secured to the front ends of the member I'byrany suitable means as screws 20.

When the drawer is closed, the parts have the position shown in the drawinginwhich it will be noted that the springs I3 are partly compressedto exert a, pressure on plate I0. This pressure vis cornrnunicated .by plate I0 to the vca ,rds I4, thereby forcing them back against the follower plate 1. This pressure keeps the cards dat and prevents the buckling or curling from heat or moisture which would belikely to take place if the cards were loose and free to bend as is f usually the` case Awhen they are loosely 'stored in ordinary tiling cabinets.

. When the `handle is grasped and the drawer pulled out, the U-shaped member is drawn forwardly relative tothe front 2 with the result thatthe toggles will bend under the influence of` springs IIir permitting vsaid springs to draw plates III, II away from the cards I4 and toward the drawer front 2. The parts are so designed that when the drawer handle is pulled as far forward as it will go, plate I0 will be withdrawn far enough to enable the separation of the cards by hand sufliciently to remove all or any. portion of them Before ,the draweris closed after the insertion or removal kof cards, the follower plate is positionedso thatthere is little or no looseness in the cards.

. Whenthedrawer is closed, the pressure Yof the hand ,Qn the drawerpull I9 forces vmember I8 inwardly back t0 the position shown in the drawing thereby camming the rollers I'I toward the sidesl I and partly straightening the toggles. This causes plates I0, II to move toward the cards to compress them into a fiat condition which is maintained, as: long as the'drawer is closed byvitue of the resiliency of Vsprings I3.V

The construction described above was designed primarily for use 'in cabinets in which are filed the perforated accounting and `statistical rec-` ord cards commonly employed in the, Hollerith and other perforated `record controlled machines. However, this construction or modifications of it may be used in filing cabinets for other things, photographs and photographic. negatives, for example,. which are considerably more likely to curl or. buckle from the effects of age, temperature, and moisture` While there has `been shown .and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and Vsubstitutions and changes in the form and Vdetails of the deviceillustratedand in its opera- Vtion may be made bythose skilled in the art rwithout departing fromthe spirit of the invention. Itis the vintention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is as` follows:

1. In a filing cabinet drawer, a follower plate adjustable relative to the front of the drawer, a compressor plate movable toward and away from the follower plate between which compressor plate and follower plate the papers to be filed may be placed, a second plate interposed between the front of the drawer and the compressor plate and movable toward the compressor plate and follower plate, resilient means connecting the second'plate and compressor plate whereby the latter may yield relative to the second plate when the second Vplate is moved toward the follower plate whereby to apply a uniform pressure to the papers between the compressor plate and follower plate, a drawer pull slidably mounted in the drawer front and movable toward and away from the follower plate, a pair of toggles interconnecting the front of thedrawer with the second plate, resilient means tending to break the toggles and draw the second plate and compressor plate toward the front of the ,drawer to release papers'compressed between the follower plate and compressor plate, said toggles `engag-` in the drawer pull whereby movement ofthe drawer pull inwardly toward the drawer front causes the toggles `to be straightened to actuate the second plate toward the compressor plate.

2. ,In a filing cabinet drawer, backing means for papers to be filed, a pressureplate movable toward the backing means to apply pressure to papers between the backing means and pressure plate, a second plate spaced from the pressure platek and parallel with the latter, means to limit relative movement of the pressure plate with respect to the second plate in the direction o! the backing means, resilient means for causing said relative movement, a drawer pull movably mounted on the front of the draw, andtoggle means engaged with said drawer pull for operating the second plate.

3. In a ling cabinetdraman operating plate movable toward and away from the rear falce ofthe yfront of the drawer `and a drawer pull movably. mounted on the front face of the drawer front andrextending into the space between the drawer front and operating plate, resilient means tending to move.l the operating plate toward thel drawer front,imeans engaging said drawer pull`l for moving the operating plate rearwardly of the drawer front against the tension of the resilient means when the drawer pull is operated to close the drawer, a vpressure plate mounted `on the rear face of the operating plate, means to` limit relative movement of the pressure plate rearwardly of the operatingplate, and yielding means interposed between said plates toV cause the operating plate to move relative to the pressure plate.

4. In a ling cabinet drawenbacking means in front of which the papers to beled are placed, a pair of movable plates located between the backing means andthe front of the drawer and movable as a `unit toward and away from said vbacking means, the papersto be filed being placed between one of they movableplates and the back# ing means, resilient means for mounting one ofthe movable plates on the other whereby the movable plate nearest the front of the drawer is permittedtomovea limited amount toward the other movable plate when the latter isobstructed by papers in front of the backing means to apply pressure to. said pepers to holdthem in at 00hdition, a drawer pull movably mounted on the front of the drawer, and means engaging said drawer pull for moving the movable plates when the drawer pull is moved relative to the drawer.

5. In a filing container of the class described, a backing plate, a pressure plate between which and the backing plate records to be filed are placed, and an operating plate, said pressure plate and operating plate being spaced from each other and parallel with the backing plate and mounted for movement toward and away from the backing plate, means resiliently mounting the pressure plate on the face of the operating plate nearest the backing plate whereby the operating plate 15 maybe moved a further distance toward the backing plate and pressure plate when the movement of the latter is obstructed by records in front oi the backing plate whereby to apply pressure to said records to hold them in flat condition, an operating handle, said container including a xed support for said handle said operating handle being movably mounted on said support, means to move the pressure plate and operating plate as a unit away from the records in front of the backing plate to permit removal of said records, and means actuated by movement of said handle for moving said operating plate and pressure plate toward said records. 

